Bremen tram riots in 1968
The Bremen tram riots in 1968 (alternatively often called Bremer streetcar riots or Big student uprising called) lasted from 15 to 22 January 1968, directed ostensibly against fare increases of BSAG . However, they also reflected the youth's desire for more self-determination and the rejection of the Vietnam War that was being fought at the time . During the unrest there were serious violent clashes between the demonstrators and the police in downtown Bremen. Ultimately, the fare increases were withdrawn.
The history
The Bremen tram riots were part of the nationwide 1968 movement , which called for more participation and democracy in society, companies and educational institutions, which protested against the authoritarian leadership of a rigid state apparatus, which demanded more and better schools and universities and which condemned the Vietnam War .
Student demonstrations against the “ educational emergency ” took place in Bremen in 1965 and 1967 as well . A Vietnam committee organized rallies and information events against the war. In 1967 the schools became more and more involved in these protest movements. In order to improve self-determination in schools, the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bremer Schüler” (ABS) existed as an association of class and school representatives from all Bremen schools. It was the Senate- recognized mouthpiece for the students. However, some of the Bremen schoolchildren were of the opinion that the ABS was not doing its job adequately, and allegations were made that it shared and largely represented the interests of the Senate, which supported the ABS financially, such as the state youth council or the political youth ring .
In Bremen-Nord there were a number of students who were members of the German Young Democrats and who were also dissatisfied with the work of the ABS. That is why they met from June 1967 and founded the Independent Students' Union (USB) on November 18 in the Marktschenke pub in Violenstrasse , which every student could join . Among the USB founders, Hermann Rademann , Jörg Streese and Christoph Köhler were the outstanding personalities. The activities were also directed against cases of censorship of school newspapers, which - as the students demanded - should be run as newspapers for which they are responsible. Against the editor of the newspaper Das Echo of the Gerhard-Rohlfs-Gymnasium in Bremen-Vegesack , Hans-Jürgen Weißbach , was determined for violating the press law. In many cases, left-liberal teachers supported the activities of the USB.
At the end of 1967 discussions about the Vietnam War, against the educational emergency , for school reforms, for anti-authoritarian education and against the emergency laws took place at numerous schools in Bremen . On November 27, Rudi Dutschke , the best-known representative of the German student movement and the extra-parliamentary opposition , visited the city and gave a speech in front of 250 listeners in the trendy restaurant Lila Eule and another in the auditorium of a Bremen grammar school the following day.
On December 23, 1967, a large demonstration against the Vietnam War took place in Bremen with several thousand participants, who held up signs with texts such as “In Vietnam the children are on fire, here the Christmas trees”. The demonstration moved through downtown to the American Consulate General . On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the USB distributed leaflets in front of two churches in which the churchgoers were told to attend the “full devotions” “while the war is raging in Vietnam”.
The tram riots were triggered by a fare increase by Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG). In early 1968 this raised the tariffs for single tickets from 60 to 70 pfennigs and those for trading cards for schoolchildren, students and apprentices from 33.3 to 40 pfennigs. The student representatives then decided at a small gathering in the Lila Eule to defend themselves. Morally and logistically they were supported by the left-wing SPD Altstadtverein (OVA) and the young democrats who were then close to the FDP .
course
The beginning of the riots
On Monday, January 15, 1968, around 5 p.m., a group of 25 to 50 schoolchildren, young trade unionists and apprentices gathered on Domsheide in front of the bell to demonstrate against the fare increase. Then as now, this intersection was one of the main junctions of the tram lines in Bremen. The teenagers distributed leaflets and finally stood on the tracks to stop the trams. When the desired success did not materialize, the group sat down together to sit in a blockade . Christoph Köhler, one of the participants in this protest, later commented as follows:
"Well, and then we sat there modestly and were quite afraid that we would be beaten up by the people who wanted to go home quickly."
The trams had to interrupt their journey and the local traffic in the inner city area partially collapsed, but after about an hour the students were pushed away by the police and some were carried away. The students then continued their action on the station square, where they limited themselves to a demonstration without hindering tram traffic. Around 300 people have already taken part in this, and there were first minor clashes with the police. The city's politicians were initially surprised by these protests.
.jpg)
However, the mayor Hans Koschnick announced on the same evening:
"We won't let the pressure of the street blackmail us."
On the following day, Tuesday the 16th, the protesters got more crowds and soon a 1,500-strong crowd gathered in the afternoon, waving signs with the words "70 Pfennig - I prefer to run". Another sit-down was organized on Domsheide at 5 p.m. The backlogs of the trams and buses that were forced to stop reached in the south to the Neustadt and in the north to the train station , which corresponds to a distance of 1.1 kilometers. Meanwhile, numerous apprentices and students who were also affected by the fare increase had joined the students. Individual demonstrators uncoupled the tram cars. Finally the police intervened again, but the blockers did not allow themselves to be carried away without resistance, as they did the day before, but threw stones, fireworks and bags of paint. This behavior provoked a reaction from the security forces, who used a water cannon.
escalation
On Wednesday, January 17th, the situation in Bremen worsened drastically. The number of demonstrators grew from 2000 in the morning to 3000 to 5000 in the afternoon. While the BSAG ceased operations in the city center and the unrest partially spread to Bremen-Nord, the police chief Erich von Bock und Polach (SPD) gave the motto
"Hit it, hit it, pursue it!"
When a large group of schoolchildren tried to storm the Domsheide, on which the water cannon was still standing, the police put this slogan into practice and hit the demonstrators with batons, injuring numerous bystanders. The ABS distanced itself from the violent protests in a leaflet distributed all over the city. However, this did not change the situation, as the ABS was not recognized by most of the demonstrators. In the evening, the first reports of damage were received in the press offices of the local newspapers: The BSAG reported 21 damaged railcars and sidecars of the tram and 14 damaged buses. At the same time, the police announced that they had made 94 arrests that day.
The violence on both sides continued unabated throughout the next day. After the works councils of AG Weser and Klöckner-Hütte , the two largest employers in the city at the time, declared their solidarity with the demonstrators on the morning of January 18, around 20,000 people gathered on Domsheide. Railway tracks and entire streets in downtown Bremen were occupied and blocked, firecrackers detonated and slogans such as "Kill the cops" were shouted, whereupon the police took 138 demonstrators into custody. Meanwhile, the Bremen Senate held a special meeting at which it was decided not to withdraw the fare increases and, on the advice of the Senator for Transport, to release the BSAG from its passenger transport obligation. The President of the Senate and Mayor Hans Koschnick (SPD), who at that time had held his post for less than two months, agreed to meet with the organizers of the student protest on January 22nd. However, the time for this meeting was brought forward to the following Friday a few hours later. Responsible for this decision was the Senate Director Waldemar Klischies (SPD), who belonged to the more moderate members of parliament , and who had submitted this proposal to the leaders of the USB after a small meeting in the cathedral chapter house on the advice of the pastor of the cathedral parish , Günter Abramzik (called "Abrazzo"). The Bremen Senator for the Interior, Franz Löbert (SPD), on the other hand, proposed to recapture the tracks and streets by force.
The meeting took place as planned on January 19th at 12 noon in the Bremen town hall . Representatives of the USB, the student union and the general student committee of the University of Education were invited . In addition to Koschnick, the youth senator and mayor Annemarie Mevissen (SPD) and Rolf Seggel , the chairman of the board of BSAG, were also present. The city representatives reaffirmed their position to agree to the fare increase, since the city could not absorb higher costs for the BSAG in any other way, but gave in to the fact that they wanted to check whether the tram could not be exempted from the road toll by the city council. After the conversation, Mevissen went to the nearby Domsheide, where several thousand people were still demonstrating. She climbed a sandbox and gave a famous speech with an electric megaphone , which she also made nationally known. The senator explained the results of the trial and warned the students against the renewed use of force. At the same time, however, she also showed understanding for their situation. During the speech, 700 police and riot police with four water cannons stood ready to take action against any further riots. However, they stayed in the background and were not needed, as there were no notable arguments.
Finale
The unrest among pupils and students came to an end almost completely in the days after Mevissen's speech. By January 20, the situation had calmed down enough that almost all buses and trams were able to run again as planned. Only on Sunday, January 21, were a few small clashes between protesters and security forces from Bremen-Nord reported. However, these did not spread to the city center as feared. On the contrary, students from the engineering school even canceled a demonstration against the crackdown on the police force during the past week. However, this did not prevent the population from starting a discussion about how the police should proceed shortly afterwards. One of the first and most frequently repeated demands was that of the suspension or resignation of Police President von Bock and Polach .
Jörg Streese from Bremen recalled in a written review of that time:
“On Monday, January 22, 1968, Hermann Rademann, as spokesman for the Independent Student Union (USB), dictated Hans Koschnick to around 10,000 Bremen residents on the Domsheide [the meeting actually took place on the Domshof ] to roaring applause: two main demands to be kept: the old fare should be kept for buses and trams as well as removal of the police chief von Bock and Polach. "
Then the Bremen citizenship met in a special session. Among other things, it was decided to set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry, which was supposed to clarify and assess the behavior of the security forces. In addition, the mayor explained that the road toll, as discussed with the representatives of the demonstration parties, would be lifted for the tram. As a result, BSAG has DM 650,000 more at its free disposal every year and can make new decisions on the tariff structure. During his statement to the MPs, he said:
“Young people have a right to be heard. The state also has to admit mistakes. "
After the meeting of the citizenship, Koschnick announced on Wednesday, January 24th, the decision made in front of around 4,000 people in the Domshof and at the same time regretted the events during the week.
Results
After completing its investigation, the committee of inquiry only came to the conclusion that the police operation against the demonstrators had been decidedly too harsh. The tram riots had no political consequences for anyone. The often criticized von Bock and Polach also remained in office. In terms of criminal law, however, the riots did have consequences. Over 400 people had been arrested in the five days, and in the days following the protests, the Bremen judiciary initiated 183 criminal proceedings. Seventeen of them were charged with assaulting police officers. Many were processed as fast-track procedures. In most cases, they ended in dismissal or acquittal. However, four imprisonment terms and 16 fines were imposed.
The price increase by BSAG, which had caused the Bremen tram riots in 1968, was finally withdrawn in mid-February. Nowadays this is generally seen as a success for schoolchildren and students, and Hans Koschnick later said:
"We had to pay political hardship for a week."
Even weeks after the riots, talks, rallies and discussion rounds took place at irregular intervals, in which all the main participants in the riots - i.e. the leaders of the USB, members of the Senate and police officers - took part and exchanged views on the riots and better prevention in the future.
Follow-up demonstrations
The tram riots in Bremen in 1968 served as a model for several similar protests in the Hanseatic city, even if none of them reached the same intensity and the riots - if there were any - were not in the least brutal.
The biggest tram riots after 1968 took place in the winter of 1976/77. On November 9, 1976, the BSAG raised the price for a single ticket to 1.50 DM and for tickets of ten to 8 DM (it should be noted that this was not the only increase in the eight years since the riots, but it was the highest). The protests began on December 6th with a large demonstration against abuses in the school system, which also denounced ticket prices. During the event, individual groups blocked the tram tracks on Domsheide and the station forecourt. These blockades were repeated in the following weeks, and there were also clashes with the police security forces. Even on February 11, 1977, protests took place in the run-up to the Schaffermahlzeit . In the end, however, they were unsuccessful because the fare increases were not withdrawn.
In the same year, on December 16, 1977, the BSAG raised the price for single tickets again, so that it was now 1.70 DM. This increase was accepted by the population without major protests.
literature
- Karl Bronke, Beenhard Oldigs: Departure, Actions and Conflicts. Social movements in Bremen from 1968 to 1982. In: Focke-Museum (Hrsg.): Protest + Neuanfang. Bremen after '68. Schünemann, Bremen 2017, ISBN 978-3-96047-027-4 ; Pp. 12-29, especially pp. 13-16.
- Hans Wrobel, Bernhard Springfeld: Citizens. Police. Bremen's police from 1945 to today. Issued by the Senator for Home Affairs . Weser-Kurier , Bremen 2013, ISBN 978-3-938795-43-9 , p. 86 ff .: 1968: The tram riots in Bremen a . a. (Accompanying volume for the exhibition Citizens. Police. Bremen's Police 1945 to the present day in the lower town hall of Bremen town hall from February 26 to April 2, 2013).
- Karl-Ludwig Sommer, Hans Wrobel: Tram riots and APO. In: Karl Marten Barefoot a . a. (Ed.): The history of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen from 1945 to 2005. Volume 1: From 1945 to 1969. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2008, ISBN 978-3-86108-575-1 , pp. 353–355 (see also p . 481–488: Renate Meyer-Braun et al .: 1968: Student movement and tram riots ).
- Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . 2nd, updated, revised and expanded edition. Edition Temmen , Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X . (2 volumes; Volume 1: A – K; Volume 2: L – Z).
- Detlef Michelers: Hit it, hit it, follow up! The Bremen student movement, the tram demonstrations and their consequences in 1967/70. Edition Temmen , Bremen 2002, ISBN 3-86108-620-4 .
- Heinrich Hannover : The republic in court 1954–1974. Memories of an uncomfortable lawyer. 2nd Edition. Aufbau-Taschenbuch-Verlag , Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-7466-7031-4 .
Radio
-
Hit it! Hit it! Follow up! The Bremen tram riots of January 1968. Radio feature by Detlef Michelers, Radio Bremen , Bremen 1998 (broadcast on Nordwest-Radio on January 27, 2008; length: 55 minutes).
- Radio recording (CD); Radio Bremen 1998; archived in the State and University Library of Bremen ( call number pf 0285 ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Radio Bremen "The tram riots of 1968" ( Memento from March 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e Weser-Kurier: Edition of January 15, 2008, page 14
- ↑ Der Spiegel No. 4, 1968, p. 28f: Police / Bremen: Großer Graben
- ↑ Schwarzwälder (2003), page 866
- ↑ Jörg Streese: The Silence - The Language - The Awakening , Bremen 1992 (PDF file; 168 kB)
